#Oh right it's Kido's birthday today

[violettelueur]

— JUJUTSU KAISEN EPISODE EIGHT || BOREDOM

↳ featuring : fushiguro megumi + kugisaki nobara + gojo satoru + zenin maki + inumaki toge + panda + aoi todo + zenin mai + miwa kasumi + gakuganji yoshinobu (mentions of itadori yuji + ieiri shoko) from jujutsu kaisen

↳ warnings : mention of violence + EXTREME grammar issues

↳ form : story

↳ published : 02 march

↳ pronouns : she/her

↳ word count : 5.8k

↳ synopsis : within the jujutsu world, there were three famous clans to be aware of, the Kamo clan, Zenin clan and the Gojo clan. However, unknown to many sorcerers there was one last family that was known to be apart of the three, only for them to disappear after the golden era leading some to speculate that they had died in battle after the sealing of ryomen sukuna, but....

↳ previous episode : assault 

↳ next episode : small fry and reverse retribution

↳ barista’s notes : hi there everyone! right now i know i haven’t been the most active i have been but i really thankful on how patient you all are ʕ •ᴥ•ʔゝ☆ my procrastination has reach a new all time high since my birthday is on saturday and i am dreading becoming 18 because that means i will be a legal adult and i also have exams soon...ʕ ㅇ ᴥ ㅇʔ moving on from that, i hope you all enjoys today’s episode!

BEFORE READING, I NEED YOU TO BE AWARE OF THIS:

1. the whole story belongs to Gege Akutami and the credits go to them and them only.

2. the spell curses used belong to Tite Kubo due to them being the ‘Kidos’ being used on the manga and anime ‘Bleach’ - but none is mentioned in this chapter.

2.5 for the ‘cursed spells’/kidos (bleach) i will link this video here and tell you the time stamp to check out what i am intending to show - remember i add a few twist here and there by adding the katana to link with Y/N’s cursed technique

no cursed spells used this episode... 

but the little flick that Y/N does is inspired from this video here

3. if you are confused on anything, please don’t hesitate to message me since i know this whole thing is so confusing.

“You really need to stop with your assaults Gojo,” Fushiguro stated, as he pressed his index and middle finger on the middle of his forehead, as he remembered the pain that came along with your flick as well as complaining about the side head slap he had gained from you.

“Nah, you just got to stop asking stupid questions Fushiguro,” you commented back before asking Kugisaki want she was planning to get.

‘So make sure you’re not alone in this world like I am Y/N, I want you to be happy even when we’re both stuck with this burden!’

‘I’m trying mother,’ you thought, as you tightly gripped your phone that was still in your pocket.

                                              ꕥ

“I never really thought you were the type that would go to the beach,” you commented, as you leisurely walked towards the calm ocean with a pair of arms wrapped around yours (that was holding your shoes) since your mother wanted to walk side by side with you to enjoy this tranquil moment together.

“I never thought that about myself either, but it’s better to be surprised then going back to the city again, is it not?” your mother asked with a let out a gentle laugh before instantly halting the moment you both felt the warm water covering your bare feet.

“I guess so,” you stated before using your other arm to partly cover your face due to the sunlight brightly blinding your eyes. However, it seemed like where your mother was standing wasn’t causing her too much irritation - maybe it wasn't as bright from where she was.

Currently, it was sunset at Tatadohama beach - to which surprised you that there weren’t as many people as you thought - where your mother had taken you since she thought you both deserved a bit of a break before you could go back to school since it was the summer break and to be honest, you needed it since you and your mother just came back from a job of exorcising a grade-one curse while trying to escape the scene before any other jujutsu sorcerers came.

“You look beautiful though, your mother has good taste doesn’t she?” your mother teasingly asked in a rhetorical manner, as she took her time to observe you rather than the sunset that was in front of her. Right now, you were some simple jean shorts that were somewhat quite large letting the gentle breeze cool you down leading you to fasten a black belt with a silver buckle which tucked in a simple short-sleeved oversized white button-up shirt that was loose, so you wouldn’t feel tight around your upper body as well as dressing for the warm weather that was approaching.

“It is quite plain, but it’s simple and cute,” you commented, as you peered down at your mother’s clothing choices before looking back up to view the beautiful setting in front of you, as your mother smiled gently before placing her head on your shoulder.

“Promise me that you’ll be okay,” your mother suddenly uttered quietly, leading you to give off a confused look before turning your head down slightly only to discover a small smile on her face with softened eyes as if she was relishing the moment with you.

“You’re acting like you're going to die tomorrow,” you comedically commented, leading your mother to laugh at your statement which caused you to giggle slightly since your mother’s laugh was always contagious when you were with her. Taking a deep breath in to calm down, your mother slowly calmed down before lifting her head up as she sighed.

“Well, anything can happen and I want your word that you will do anything to be safe,” your mother expanded on her previous statement, causing you to turn to her to look at her in the eye, trying to see and understand what your mother really wanted you to know before you nodded at her with a small smile.

“I promise mother” 

                                               ꕥ

“Oi Y/N, wake up”

Slowly opening your eyes, you slowly blinks a few times as you try to get a clearer view from what you were looking at before steadily realising that you were at the track field where you were training with the rest of the students.

Shifting your eyes to look up slightly, only to discover all the upperclassmen looking down at you with the tree leaves covering you from the sunlight that was beaming down right now.

‘Oh...that’s right, I’m at Jujutsu Tech’

“Sorry for making you fight with all of us, I bet you were exhausted, but we need you to check up on Megumi and Nobara since they went to do some errands,” Panda expressed with hands pressed together as a sign of forgiveness.

“Kelp,” Inumaki commented as if affirming Panda’s statement leading you to sit up slowly before stretching your arms to get read of the stiffness that was consuming them before taking in Zenin’s outstretched arm to help you up - something you both been doing for quite some time during the week - before picking up the black track top of brought out for today’s training that you were laying on top of.

“Sorry for sleeping, where are they?” you asked, as you covered your mouth to yawn since you didn’t want to seem rude to your second-year seniors.

“They should be getting a few drinks for themselves and us from the vending machines, they didn’t want to wake you up, but we knew they probably need some help remembering what we want,” Zenin answered, as she used her thumb to point behind her the direction you needed to take.

“Sorry, I’ll get going then,” you commented before tying the track top around your waist before picking up your black katana since you didn’t want to leave it alone before waving at them when you were beginning to head off.

“I’ll see you guys later,” you mentioned before Inuamki shouted ‘Salmon’ back at you before you swiftly made your way up the stone steps to find both your classmates Fushiguro and Kugisaki to get the drinks that the other wanted since you knew that they’ll probably both forget or take too long for your senior’s liking.

“I’m surprised she can still run after all those practice matches,” Panda stated, as he continued to stare at the direction that you headed out in.

“She’s strong, there is no surprise Gojo has taken her into his family and out of training to take some missions,” Zenin commented before continuing with, “she comes back really quickly to resume training with us,”.

“Mustard leaf,” Inumaki mentioned, as he nodded at his classmate’s remark about you before all of the second years went off for their walk, as they gave you time to run your errands before coming back to the field to train for the Kyoto Sister-School Goodwill Event.

                                               ꕥ

Looking at her drinks in front of her, Kugisaki was disappointed at the lack of variety that the machines had as she groaned in annoyance before pressing her choice of the cold drink she wanted before checking to make sure there was orange juice in the vending machine since she knew you would want some when she got back to you.

“Couldn’t they put in a few more vending machines?” Kugisaki asked in an irritated tone, as she bent down to collect her drink from the takeout port before turning around to look at her classmate, who was standing behind her.

“They can’t. There are only so many workers who can come in here,” Fushiguro answered, as he turned to look at her only for the female to turn back around to place more money into the coin slot. “What else are you buying?” Fushiguro asked since he knew that Kugisaki as well as himself didn’t know what the upperclassmen wanted - that was usually your job.

“Gojo really likes orange juice, so I wanted to buy her some since she did train with all of us, I bet she’s still sleeping,” Kugisaki commented before contemplating if you wanted to bottle or carton version of the citrus juice since she didn’t know if you always bought the carton one on purpose.

However, before she could come to the conclusion on what you probably wanted, she noticed from the corner of her eye that there were two people standing at the other side of the outdoor hallway they were at. From what she can observe, it seemed like those two people were from Jujutsu Tech due to their uniforms as the male had what seemed to be an angry expression while the other student - who looked similar to Zenin Maki - had a sly smile on her face.

“What are you doing here, Zenin-senpai?” Fushiguro asked in confusion since he wasn’t expecting anyone from Kyoto Metropolitan Curse Technical College to come to their side.

“Oh, she’s one, too?” Kugisaki queried while turning her head to look at Fushiguro before continuing with, “They do seem similar, are they sisters?” as she turned back to look at the female student to get a closer look at her.

“They’re twins,” Fushiguro answered quickly.

“Don’t call me that, Fushiguro-kun. You make me sound the same as Maki, call me Mai,” Mai stated, as she gave the two Tokyo students a wink.

“So there are the pinch hitters for Okkotsu and the third-years?” the male student stated with a hostile tone while glaring at them with a look of pure disappointment.

“We came here with the principal because we were worried about you. Your classmate died, right? Was that rough? Or did you think nothing of it?” Mai asked with the smirk still painted on her face, leading Fushiguro and Kugisaki to tense at her sudden but somewhat offensive questions.

“What are you trying to say?” Fushiguro asked tensely, as he suddenly felt a slight bit of annoyance building up in his stomach.

“It’s okay, some things are hard to say out loud, so I’ll say it for you,” Mai amusingly stated before proceeding, “‘Vessel’ makes it sound nice, but it means he was a half-curse monster. Having such a tainted, inhuman being beside you brazenly calling himself a jujutsu sorcerer must have been revolting right? Aren’t you feeling better now that he’s dead?”. However, her questions only lead to extremely vexed expressions appearing on both of the Tyoko student’s faces.

“Mai, don’t bring up such pointless topics, I’m only here to see if these guys are fit to take Okkotsu’s place, that’s all I want to know,” the large male declared as he took a few steps forwards before throwing his school jacket to the side, leading to the shikigami sorcerer to tense up once again as he began to worry what was about to happen.

“Fushiguro, was it?” the large male asked before shouting in a proud manner…

“What kind of woman is your type?”

Suddenly perplexed, Fushiguro as well as Kugisaki, shifted their heads to the side simultaneously to convey their unexpected confusion to the two Tokyo students especially to the male that had just asked the weird as well as absurd question.

“Depending on your answer, I’ll beat you half to death right here and drag Okkotsu, or at least the third-years, out to the exchange event,” the large Kyoto student threatened as he processed to unexpectedly and violently ripped his purple shirt into shreds, showcasing his large muscular upper body before positioning himself in his usual fighting stance as he then suddenly announced, “by the way, my type is a tall woman with a big ass!”.

“Why do I have to talk about my taste in women with a guy I just met?” Fushiguro annoyingly asked as he began to express an irritated expression on his face at the Kyoto student that suddenly declared a fight out of nowhere.

“He’s right. That’s a tall hurdle for an antisocial guy,” Kugisaki unintentionally comedically commented, as she pointed at her stoic classmate, leading Fushiguro to express a more vexed expression.

“You be quiet. This is confusing enough already. You’ll just make it more complicated,” Fushiguro mentioned as an irked mark became more visible on his right cheek, displaying his displeasure on what was happening right now.

“Kyoto, third-year, Todo Aoi,” the Kyoto Tech sorcerer introduced himself. “Introduction over,” Todo announced as he then continued by saying, “now we’re friends. Hurry up and answer, if you prefer men, that’s fine too,”.

“A person’s fetishes reflect everything about them,” Todo explained, indicating the reason why he was asking his laughable question in the first place. “People with boring taste in women are boring people themselves,” Todo passionately proclaimed, as if he was presenting a speech to the whole of Japan at this moment in time before he exclaimed, “I hate boring men.”

“And I hate drags like you”

Turning his head slightly to view what was going on behind him, Todo managed to get a glimpse of a person that was right behind his school mate. A female standing with her hands in her pockets with what seemed to be a katana hanging horizontally unlike Okkotsu, who had his vertically, with a nonchalant expression painted on her face.

“Also your drag ass friend, she has quite a big mouth for a Grade three sorcerer from what I can sense, is this what I’m really fighting against Fushiguro?” you asked before you started to walk past the other sorcerer as you made your way to the vending machine to grab the drinks that the second-years usually requested when they made you run errands during a break from training.

“Gojo! You’re awake?” Kugisaki asked as she smiled at you before quickly mentioning there was money already in the machine since she was planning to get you your drink.

“You heard everything?” Fushiguro questioned as he turned his view to you, only to discover you pressing on the button that correlated to the carton of orange juice as you mentioned to Kugisaki that you were going to pay her back before turning your head to look at your other classmate.

“Yeah, I heard everything. You guys are loud and to be honest, both of them need to shut up, they’re such drags,” you muttered disrespectfully since you could tell they were at least a year or two years above you in the academic year.

However, it seemed like your insult didn’t stop Todo from explaining his passion for people’s preferences in a partner as he continued to declare his speech with pride, much to your complete dismay.

“As I was saying, the exchange event is where my soul can be free as blood boils and flesh clashes, who knows what I might do if my last exchange event ends up boring me?” Todo rhetorically questioned as he maintained his fighting stance as if he was ready to pounce within a  second with a confident smile on his face.

‘Shut up...I have to meet with Gojo-sensei later and I don’t want a massive headache to come in before it becomes worse when I see him’

“Hey, aren’t the Jujutsu Tech schools four-year schools?” Kugisaki asked in an unsure manner as she turned to look at Fushiguro since she was trying to take note from you on what drinks to buy in case you weren’t able to for the seniors. However, she was confused about why Todo mentioned that this was going to be his last exchange event when he was a thrid-year.

“Only third-years and under can join the exchange event,” Fushiguro quickly answered Kugisaki’s question as she then let out an understandable ‘Hmm’ to inform her classmate that she acknowledged what he had just told her before swiftly turning back to notice that you had brought a cold water bottle for what seemed to be for Zenin (Maki) since you and her were looking at your phone to see a note displayed on the screen.

“As a show of kindness, I’ll let you off only half-dead right now,” Todo threatened again before repeating the weird question that instinctively started this whole situation, “answer me, Fushiguro. What kind of woman is your type?”

“Is this some kind of comedy routine?” the shikigami user angrily asked, as he increasingly got annoyed at what was happening right now and was confused on why he was picked in the first place.

“Don’t get into a fight, I seriously can’t be bothered to use any reverse cursed technique to heal your wounds if you do and we need to get back to training soon,” you stated before pressing on the last button for the last drink that was needed to be given for Inumaki when you get back.

However, it seemed as if both of your classmates didn’t listen to you since Kugisaki was now observing the other student behind Todo due to her uniform. “Is that your summer uniform?” Kugisaki asked in a light tone, as she admired the outfit before continuing with “ticks me off, but it’s nice”.

“Are you both even listening?” you muttered in annoyance before grabbing the small bag - that you kept from the time you went to your mother’s grave - in the pocket of your nylon cargo pants to place the drinks after you had got them from the dispenser since you didn't want to struggle to carry them.

Looking to his side, Fushiguro looked at his classmate as he began to analyse the situation that was currently going on. From what he could gather, Kugisaki was unarmed and didn’t have her usual hammer with her like she normally did meaning he was wanting to avoid any confrontation that could happen at this moment in time, while you were armed with your usual katana, yet he didn’t want to risk you revealing your true identity to the Kyoto students - not like he really had to worry about that.

‘Not forgiving people isn’t a bad thing. That’s just part of your kindness, isn’t it?’

That’s what his sister said to him once.

“I don’t have a particular preference, as long as she has unshakeable character, I won’t ask for more,” Fushiguro answered, to which you were surprised since you predicted that he wasn’t the type to reveal that sort of information. On the other hand, it seemed like Mai was pleased with the answer as she smiled sweetly at the boy causing you to shudder.

‘Ain’t...they like….family…?’

“Not a bad answer, if you had said something like ‘big boobs,’ I’d have killed you,” Kugisaki mentioned with a please expression on her face since she was relieved at the fact Fushiguro wasn’t suggestive like the Kyoto student in front of you three right now.

“Shut up,” Fushiguro muttered in an irritated tone.

However, it seemed like not everyone was pleased with his answer, as a tear was shed on a cheek.

“I knew it...You’re boring, Fushiguro,” Todo stated in a depressed manner before swiftly pushing himself to swing Fushiguro violently outside the hallway you were standing.

“DIDN’T I SAY NOT TO GET INTO FIGHTS, YOU DRAG?!” you screamed, as you turned your head to the direction where Fushiguro was struck away.

“FUSHIGURO!” Kugisaki panicked as she began to rush to his aid before a pair of arms was wrapped around her to halt her movement.

“Poor Fushiguro-kun, even a talented second-grade jujutsu sorcerer is nothing more than a first-year against the top-grade Todo-senpai, I’ll have to comfort him later,” Mai expressed with a sickly-sweet tone. However, you already had something to say.

“That may be true, but your Todo-senpai is nothing against a special-grade,” you mentioned with a smirk on your face, causing the female sorcerer to look towards you with widened eyes before suddenly remembering what Kugisaki called you by.

“Gojo…” Mai stuttered.

“Gojo, I’m okay! Just make sure Fushiguro is,” Kugisaki said to you with a proud smile on her face, causing you to drop the bag that you had in hand before quickly untying the red charm that was at the end of your katana.

‘I don’t need to unsheathe my katana, but I can’t use any of my curse spells to restrain him, so the chain will have to do’

“Hold this for me!” you shouted as you swiftly tossed the charm in her direction to which she caught easily since her arms still had movement before you rushed towards the scene where Fushiguro and Todo was.

‘This is such a drag right now…’ you thought, as you made it outside to find Fushiguro kneeling on the ground with a few new scratches on his face as well as his now stained blue track. However, it seemed as if Todo wasn’t done with his first attack since he was talking towards the Tokyo student like he was his prey.

On the other hand, you didn’t seem to care as you looked at him with an annoyed expression - even though you knew it wasn’t his fault. “Didn’t I say not to get into any fights? I can’t be bothered to use any reversed cursed techniques right now and I don’t want to bother Shoko-san since I need to train with her to know how to use it properly!” you raged, yet once again, it seemed like both of the male sorcerer’s weren’t listening to you.

“I knew at first glance that you were a boring guy, but you shouldn’t judge a person by their looks, right?” Todo questioned rhetorically again, causing the flames of rage to increase inside your soul since this situation was getting a little too similar to the one back at the detention centre.

“So I went out of my way to ask you, but you just trampled on my kindness,” Todo whined with a pout on his face while wiping the dripping tears that continued to fall.

“Is your brain as pineapple as your head?” Fushiguro insulted, as he gave the senior a weirded-out look.

“You’re the one to talk, hedgehog!” you screamed in annoyance since you were getting frustrated at the fact that no one was listening to you.

“I heard you don’t use cursed techniques.” Fushiguro randomly mentioned as he got up on his feet causing you to look at him with a death glare as well as suddenly being curious about what he meant by ‘don’t use cursed techniques’.

“Huh? Oh, that’s rumour’s false, I used them against the special-grade,” Todo plainly stated like it was an everyday face before raising his arm to wave his hand side to side as if to ‘slap’ away the rumours that were going on about him before continuing with, “but I heard rumours going around about a girl that went toe-to-toe with Sukuna, she was fighting with you right? Where is she?”

‘MAYBE THE GIRL THAT IS BEHIND YOU, SHOUTING AT YOU DRAGS!’

“That’s a relief to hear!” Fushiguro declared as if he was confident, causing you to look at him enraged with fury.

“THAT IS NOT A RELIEF TO HEAR, YOU DRAG!” you screamed, as you were now handing on an extremely thin piece of thread that was going to snap any second, leading you to attack both of them if this got out of hand.

However, once again, Fushiguro and Todo didn’t listen to you for one second as the shikigami sorcerer began to signal his shikigami to appear with the familiar hand-sign of ‘Nue’ back with you fought with him against Sukuna and ‘Gama’ from when you were training with him - yet, you were completely perplexed on what he had combined when both together.

Suddenly, a familiar shadow began to swiftly emerge from the ground before it suddenly took form into something you didn’t really expect from the Ten-Shadow Technique sorcerer.

“Frogs with wings?” you muttered, as you stared at the sight in complete surprise since you didn’t expect to see a few frogs with wings appearing in front of you - you never thought you see something like this in your life, to be honest.

“Bottomless Well!” Fushiguro chanted before a few of the frogs croaked in response causing you to stare that the creature in a now unreadable expression.

‘They will be weaker than their counterpart shikigami but they do have many benefits....didn’t Gojo-sensei mention something about the Kamo’s family?’

On the other hand, it seemed like your future opponent in the exchange event didn’t seem so nervous about the technique. Of course, from what you remembered from training as well as some knowledge that you had gained just from seeing one movement from Todo, you had come to the conclusion that he was a close-range fighter, probably had some experience with weapons since it would be foolish if a fighter didn’t have any sense it was a risk of them just having knowledge with their hands.

However, before you could even continue to gain more knowledge just by looking at the back of the well muscular sorcerer, there was a quick shift in the air causing you to snap out of your trance only to find Todo behind suddenly behind Fushiguro as he processed to wrap his arms around your classmate’s waist.

“Flimsy and shallow...Both your body and your taste in women!” Todo shouted before lifting Fushiguro upwards like he weighed nothing before aggressively smashing his headfirst into the ground behind him, causing you to discover how flexible the Kyoto student was before he suddenly jumped up into the air to give his opponent a punch, only for Fushiguro to dodge just in time, yet that didn’t seem to last since the second he moved away to gain some distance, he was violently smacked with a fist.

“Fushiguro!” you shouted, before quickly forcing the soles of your sheet to push your body forward to an extreme length, just in time to get in between both of the male sorcerers that were fully ignoring you since the moment you entered into the conversation to grab the drinks.

“Gojo!” Fushiguro yelled out in a panic since he was extremely worried that you were now taking a hit for him.

However, it seemed like Todo was now suddenly the one that was worried since his incoming punch seemed to hit something really small since it didn’t cover all his knuckles, yet it didn’t break like he thought it would, causing him to let the debris slowly clear away as his eyes began to notice the sight of a sleek black wooden scabbard standing vertically from the ground halting his extremely large fist, while you were kneeling down behind it, holding the handle with an extremely displeased look on your face with Fushiguro behind you as your other hand had a grip on the collar of his blue track jacket.

“You know Fushiguro, you are full of surprises but a complete drag when it comes to not listening to me,” you muttered, before slowly letting go of his collar as your turned your now free hand to face Kyoto Student in front of you, who was looking down at you with a shocked expression on his face.

“Todo Aoi right? You see, Gojo-sensei asked me to meet up with him and I don’t want a headache since I know he’s gonna give me one later, so I’ll see you later okay?” you sinisterly stated, before opening your palm to him as you slowly bend your middle finger towards you while placing your thumb on top of it, right on the nail.

“That looks like a nice construction sight,” you nonchalantly mentioned as you looked up at the wooden structure behind you before speedily flicking out your middle finger, causing Todo’s body to suddenly be pushed back with an extremely large force of cursed energy leading to the wooden panels to instantly break once his body made contact before you assumed his body landed on the wooden flooring that was above since you couldn’t see him anymore.

“Gojo…” Fushiguro muttered in shock as he didn’t expect something like that to happen before he noticed the same hand that flicked his opponent away was coming towards him with the same gesture. 

Flicking his forehead gently, you turned to look at him with a straight face before you used the same palm to let your cursed energy become slowly positive with some concentration to heal his wound that was on his head.

“It’s not much since I haven’t perfected it yet, but it will deal with the blood loss before you go to Shoko-san, you drag” you commented before sighing.

‘There was no need for me to remove the charm after all, but that’s enough for me to gain information for the event’

“Megumi! Y/N!” someone shouted, causing you both to look up only to find your second-year seniors Inumaki and Panda looking down below you to where you remembered flicking Todo towards, leading you to assume that they went to where there was the most ruckus was happening. However, next to Panda was Todo, who smirked down at the sight of both of you below.

“Fushiguro, let’s train our hardest okay?” you muttered, so only your classmate could hear, leading him to look at your with confused eyes before you turned to him with a smile, “you’re really strong, but I know you and Kugisaki can get stronger, so just follow me when I need you to okay?” you asked, before standing up on your feet once you managed to stop the blood loss from Fushiguro’s head.

“Panda-senpai! Inumaki-senpai! Can you take Fushiguro to Shoko-san, Gojo-sensei said he needs me for a discussion, I assume Maki-san is with Kugisaki!” you yell out.

“Salmon!” Inuamki shouted back before all of the three sorcerers were out of your sights, causing you to turn back to Fushiguro before giving your hand to him to help himself up.

‘Grade-one Todo Aoi and grade-three Zenin Mai ha?’

                                          ꕥ

“Ah Y/N, my daughter there you are!” Gojo cheered in delight once he saw you on the other side of the sliding door before you decided to step in since it was left open, to who you assumed was your adoptive dad that opened it earlier for his own reason.

“Excuse me,” you muttered before taking a quick glance around the room before noticing that there were only two more people with you and Gojo right now. From a side glance, you noticed a girl, probably the same age as you or maybe a year older at the latest, with long blue hair with a slightly slanted fridge wearing a suit that seemed to suit her really well even if her youthful and adorable face. 

‘A semi grade two? No..maybe three like Mai…’

However, as your eyes shifted to the sight on the opposite side where Gojo was seated, there was an old man seated while holding onto a wooden cane, who seemed to be somewhere in his late 80s but you wouldn’t tell since he seemed too hollow for you liking, yet something about him gave you an off-putting feeling.

“I wanted to tell you about the two special-grade curses that attacked me the other day,” Gojo happily mentioned with a smile on his face, causing you to look at him with a confused expression since he seemed too happy for someone that got attacked.

“Why do you look so happy? That should be the opposite reaction Gojo-sensei,” you remarked, as you made your way towards him only for his response to be a little pout.

“How many times do I have to tell you? You can call me your dad,” Gojo childishly whined.

“Never,” you shut down his offer as quickly as you could before uttering him to tell you about the special curses he wanted to inform you about, only for him to suddenly pull out a piece of paper with two childish drawings on them, causing you to look at the art in a fed-up manner before snatching it off his hand to get a closer look at the curses that he masterfully drew.

“As I said before, the two cursed spirits were capable of communication and they probably have allies who are just as strong,” Gojo declared in a serious manner, causing you to shiver at the 180-degree personality turn that he had done right in front of you. 

“It’s not just our enemies, either. Hakari, Okkotsu, your Todo and now my daughter Gojo. The level of our students has risen drastically in recent years, as well,” Gojo stated as he stared at the old man before he processed with, “then there was last year’s incident with Geto Suguru and now, the appearance of Sukuna’s vessel,”.

“What are you trying to say?” the old man asked, as he looked at your adoptive father with an expressionless look on his face (not that you could ever tell if there was any expression in the first place).

“Hehe, you don’t know? The wave of power you guys have been trying to hold back with your pointless status and traditions has grown bigger than you can handle and is now descending upon us. You won’t be able to measure the coming age with the classification of ‘special grade’ if you think I’m the only one who’ll be fighting back, you’re going to get hurt, old man,” Gojo declared with a smirk on his face as he felt the presence of the realisation that was coming to you now.

‘That man...was the reason why…..Itadori….’

“I think you are getting a bit out of line,” the old man lightly threatened in a lower tone as he glared at the sorcerer in front of him.

“I think it’s you that’s getting out of line,” you muttered in vexation as you glared down hostility at the man sitting on the opposite side of the table as the paper that you were holding began to crumble in your grasp. “If you get to kill someone by using me as a tool, let me return the favour next time with your head,” you threatened in a spiteful manner causing the old man to look at you with the same hollow eyes as he did with Gojo.

“Oh! Scary! Well, that's all I wanted to say, I’ll be going now with my daughter,” Gojo mentioned, as he got up from his seat before placing his hands on each of your upper arms to push you towards the direction of the door, before guiding himself through that gap that was left open.

“Oh, Principal Yaga will be coming in about two hours. Later!” Gojo departed cheekily, before closing the door as he then guided you away from the room the higher-up was in since he knew you were in a state of shock at the discovery you had made about your deceased classmate: Itadori Yuji.

‘Those higher-ups are so useless, all they do is command other sorcerers to do their dirty work while acting if they are superior dear. If I could, I would kill all of them’

‘Mother….’

© violettelueur 2021 : written and published by violettelueur - do not steal or repost

[wreakhavic]

The Most Dangerous Game

II

    Later that day, after their shifts, Momo and Marika went for a walk and had a lighthearted talk about each other's days. They settled under the wisteria tree, surrounded by delicate purple flowers. Marika sighed with an almost unnoticeable note of melancholy. 

- Wisteris are so beautiful... - Momo noticed. 

- They are - Marika agreed, dazedly looking into the distance.

    Momo placed a little bundle on Marika's lap. She jumped a bit, not expecting something like that. She looked at Momo in confusion. 

- July 14th. It's your birthday, right? - Momo said with the widest grin. 

- Oh! Oh, right - Marika answered in confusion - How did you… 

- It's on the form you filled out when you joined our squad, silly!

- Riiight - Marika noded - You needn't… 

- Of course I did! - Momo said with a mock-angry face.

    Marika untied the bundle and revealed a black obi with hand-embroidered flames on the edges. The embroidery work was subtle and made with good taste. 

- Ooh! It's beautiful! Thank you, Momo! - Marika hugged her. 

- I wanted to make something that would remind you of our friendship - Momo mumbled through a hug.

    When they broke a hug, Marika ejected a little heart shaped hado#31. Shakkahō from her finger. 

- Wow. I didn't know one could do that with a hado!

- I will teach you, watch… 

   They stayed there for an hour more or so, until Momo perfected a heart-hado, which both of the women could easily do, since they had fire-based Zanpakuto powers, and thus natural talent for fire kido.

*

    Aizen spent time between morning duties and evening zanjutsu practice with his squad in his chambers, reading and writing.

    He, for whatever reason, felt restless. The words from the pages would not stay in his head, so he found himself reading the same page over and over.

    "To hell with this… Why do I feel like expecting something? It must be the excitement of the proximity of obtaining the real hogyoku… There are already rumors about Kuchiki Rukia being assigned to Karakura Town… "

    He smiled with content. Soon all his hard work will pay off. He put his head in his palm, leaning on the table with his elbow. He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes with the other hand.

    "It is not in my best interest to punish Gato in an official way… yet. She has some undeniable qualities that I can use. She is strong, her potential for growth is abysmal, she is smart and intelligent… I should find use for her. What I should do now is find more about her and get her in the palm of my hand… The fact that I now know that she leans towards forbidden things and knowledge is useful, that's the gate for how I can control her… "

    He slowly closed and opened his eyes. His eyelids were heavy. He closed them again and the image of Marika walking out that morning came to his mind. He lightly blushed when her legs materialised in front of his closed eyes. He immediately opened his eyes.

    "What the hell am I thinking about". He waved his hand in front of his face as if to disperse the image from before.

- Anyways; It's time to go to the zanjutsu training site - he said quietly to himself and got up to get ready. 

*

    Marika was relieved because she wasn't paired with Momo today; in fact, she couldn't be, since Momo is lieutenant, and in charge of demonstration of techniques. Captain Aizen was there to supervise and correct officers' posture and technique. 

    "Momo sure is a nice girl", Marika thought, "but she can be really annoying with her naivety and shelterness, and a bit too much to be around for too long.. . I imagine that, no matter what Captain said when we spoke at the Academy, Momo will be the next Captain of 5th squad, thus putting up with her will pay off… " 

    Before the training, Marika changed into a shirt with V-cut and long, wide sleeves, and short wide skirt with a slit. She absentmindedly did a light stretch before the training had begun.

    Most of the officers from 5th squad were already there, getting ready, stretching or doing simple Zanpakutō moves. Marika was 4th seat of the 5th squad. It was a position she got right out of Soul Reaper Academy. In fact, it was one of her conditions for joining the squad. Her Zanpakutō, Hiseishin, was, in its sealed form, a dagger. It meant that she had a disadvantage in sparring with Soul Reapers with long swords, but she made up for it with prolific use of hohō. In fact, she trained on her own in order to master shunpo.

    Captain Aizen and Lieutenant Hinamori arrived and greeted all officers. It meant that the training could begin.

    Momo bowed and did her demonstration as Aizen occasionally strolled up and down rows of officers, gave comments and advised fellow Soul Reapers. Once he was sure everyone was doing moves the way they were supposed to, he sat and glanced left and right. 

    Aizen was well aware that every time Marika was in his line of sight, his eyes would focus on her until he knowingly moved them. That wasn't what bothered him, after all, he ought to keep his eye on the ones who interest him and can be of use to him. What bothered him was the fact that he felt a flush of blood in his cheeks and his heart beating only so slightly faster every time he glanced at where she was. He hoped nobody would notice it. 

    "It'd sure be nice if I was able to… monitor her without distractions", again he felt a slight annoyance with Momo.

*

    In the evening, Aizen came back to his chambers. He sighed as he closed the door behind himself, threw glasses on the table and put his uniform on a hanger. With only his shitagi and loin cloth left on him, Aizen went to the bathroom to wash his face and heat water for the shower. He felt more exhausted than he usually felt at the end of the day.

    Hot water felt good on skin. He rubbed his shoulders to relieve the stress and closed his eyes to enjoy drops of water on his face. As soon as he started to rewind, memories of Marika popped up in front of him: her dance with a dagger on the training site, her skirt revealing more of her thighs with each jump and turn, the calm and sure look on her face she had in the morning even though Momo was so nervous she was shaking, then the image of Marika when she stood up to leave the room, she was close enough he could see every muscle move, curves and indents of her legs and buttocks… He started repeating images of her from that perspective, going from the feet to the thighs, to the ass, then the curve of her lower back… he drew it with his finger on the tiles of the wall. As he drew it from the top and went lower, following with his eyes, he saw his penis went half-hard, slightly throbbing.

    "It is natural for a man to feel the need to… relieve himself while in shower due to the intensified blood flow", he thought to himself, and lightly squeezed his member a few times. 

- Mmmh… - Aizen put one hand on the wall and leaned in, while touching himself with the other.

    He continued squeezing the shaft, at first lightly and then harder as he was getting harder. Then he started slowly jerking it, his hips following the movement. His eyes and teeth were shut tightly, only muffled noises escaping his lips. As he moved his hand faster down his shaft, his tip full of blood and pulsating, even though he tried to keep his mind blank, he started imagining Marika being between him and the wall. His member jumped from sudden increase of blood, tip becoming sensitive. 

- AaaAhhh…! - a loud moan broke out of his mouth as the thick white liquid spilled out of his tip. He squeezed his hands in fists and hit the wall with them, panting and quivering. 

    Aizen stood there under the water that was getting cold, looking at the ground. He felt embarrassed for what he'd been thinking of while relieving himself, but ultimately decided not to think about it too hard.

    He dried himself with a soft towel, put on a night robe and layed on a futon. Closing eyes, he put one hand on his chest and the other on the stomach, listening and feeling only  his breath and heartbeat. He smiled and with that expression fell asleep.

***

Thank you for reading! I hope you liked it. What do you think Marika wants from Aizen?

Edit: I fcked up some dates... Changed b-day and other facts accordingly

[koreaweeb]

When Summer Ends - Chapter One

@underc0vercryptid-reads @laraplisetski @omegahighendpro @thooo0t @t3sselated @youngestdelacour @sadeyesgf

"Next stop, we will be arriving at Osaka. Next stop, Osaka. Please gather all your belongings, and ensure you have everything with you. Have a nice day!"

Osaka.

This was where she was born, and where she lived until they moved to Tokyo when she was seven. In the eight years she was gone, a lot had changed. The main city area was bustling with both locals and tourists, and there were a lot more high rise buildings than she remembered. Even the train station had been upgraded to fit the modern world.

She got onto a bus, heading for a small village just outside of Osaka where she used to live. The further they were away from the city, the more rural it was becoming. Still, even the small rural village was modernised over the years as she came to find out when she reached her destination. 

Eight years later, Ueda Katsumi was finally back.

“Hm...I don’t remember a store being here.”

Her memories were already a little fuzzy, and coupled with the fact that most of the village had been revamped, Katsumi was finding herself lost and confused. When she used to be able to walk home from the bus stop, she was now very much stuck. Almost as if she had arrived in a foreign place. 

Pulling her phone out to check on Google Maps, she was just remembering that she used the very last of her data the day before to watch a Youtube video. Her mother had refused to top it up for her, since she was irresponsible with her usage. Katsumi was now regretting her decision to watch a twenty-minute compilation video of cats falling off things.

“Ah...what’s grandma’s phone number again?”

While they got her grandmother a mobile phone for her birthday about three years ago, she was less than happy to use it. The one time she did try to use it, she accidentally called the police and they ended up doing a wellness check on her, thinking that it was an emergency. Since then, she swore she would never touch the abomination that was a mobile phone. 

The only way to reach her grandmother was through the landline. How fortunate that she did not save that number, nor remember it for the life of her. 

There was the option of calling her mother, but Katsumi was not prepared for the lecture. She could already hear her mother: ‘I told you to always remember the important numbers! And I told you to always save your data for important things! Ueda Katsumi, when will you ever listen to me?’

Caught in a dilemma, Katsumi was deep in thoughts trying to make a decision when someone suddenly ran past her, grabbing her suitcase as they went. She was frozen for a second, processing what happened. By the time she came to, another person ran past her and Katsumi found herself chasing after both of them. 

She was lagging behind but she saw both of them turning down an alley. When she caught up about a minute later, only one of them was left, and they were holding her suitcase in one hand. Without thinking, Katsumi took her backpack off and threw it at the person. 

“Give my suitcase back, you thieving asshole!” she yelled.

Their chase alone had already captured the attention of the few citizens on the street. When a young girl was yelling at someone, however, that attracted more attention to them. 

“Are you crazy? I was getting it back for you!”

“Liar! You were running with that other guy! What? Did he abandon you?”

“I was running after him. After him!”

They were interrupted by a police officer who was approaching them with a man in handcuffs. “I caught him, Ryouta.” Unbeknownst to Katsumi, the police officer saw the boy chasing the real thief into the alley and he went after them. The thief abandoned the suitcase to jump the wall and while the police officer continued the chase, the boy stayed with the belongings. 

Although a little embarrassed that she accused the wrong person, Katsumi did her best not to let that embarrassment show when he was looking straight at her. Then something clicked in her mind. Did the officer just call him ‘Ryouta’? She knew a Ryouta.

As irritated as he was for being accused when he was being a good Samaritan, Ryouta still picked up the backpack and dropped it by the girl’s feet along with her suitcase. Just as he was leaving, however, she grabbed onto his arm.

“Did he just call you Ryouta? Ry-ou-ta?” she asked, pronouncing the syllables in his name individually. 

She was stepping closer as she spoke, while he took a step back to keep a distance between them. Until he was backed up against the wall, and her face was only inches away from his. Ryouta could not help but notice that she smelled really nice. Her perfume was subtle with a hint of sweetness. And with her face directly in front of his, he could see that she was pretty with cute features. 

Just his type…

God! What was he thinking? And did this girl have no sense of personal space?

“Hey um...I hate to interrupt but do you guys mind coming down to the station to give your statement?” the officer asked, saving Ryouta. 

He was pretty sure his face was bright red by then. 

--

Taken to the station along with the thief, they were getting their statements taken individually. When asked for her name, the officer recognised her surname and asked if she was related to an Ueda Chihiro. Once he found out that she was Katsumi’s grandmother, he kindly called her. 

Hearing the name ‘Ueda’ piqued Ryouta’s interest. 

Could she be...his Ueda Katsumi?

He wanted to ask but could not find the courage in himself to do so. Every time he looked over to her, she was looking right back. Whenever she smiled at him, he would look away and cursed himself softly for blushing. Was Katsumi really back?

“Katsumi!”

About ten minutes later, an old lady walked into the station and called out to the girl. As soon as Ryouta saw her, his suspicion that the girl was the Ueda Katsumi he knew growing up was confirmed.

Ueda Chihiro took her husband’s name, and was the paternal grandmother of Ueda Katsumi. Chihiro had lived in Osaka her entire life, and ever since he was born, Ryouta’s family had been her neighbour. That was how he came to know Katsumi. She was born two years after him, and he vaguely remembered his father bringing him over to the Ueda home to see the new baby. 

For the next seven years, they grew up together, played together, and went to the same school. 

Until Katsumi’s mother remarried and decided to move to Tokyo with her new husband, taking Katsumi with her. Back then, they did not have mobile phones. Nor were they old enough to have emails. And just like that, he lost all contact with her. He thought she would at least be visiting every so often. He thought wrong.

This was her first time returning to Osaka since she moved away.

“Are you okay, my darling?” Chihiro asked, squeezing Katsumi’s cheeks. “Your first day in Osaka and you’re already getting into trouble. What am I going to tell your mother, hm? She’s going to kill me for not taking good care of you.”

“She’s going to kill me for getting into trouble so I think we can agree on not telling her what happened today,” Katsumi grinned. 

“Oh my, Ryouta-kun is here too. Were you the one who helped Katsumi?”

“So you are Ryouta! Kido Ryouta!”

During her years in Osaka, Katsumi did not have a lot of friends so it was not hard for her to remember. Although, it had been eight years since she last saw him, and Ryouta had changed just like the village did. He was much taller now when they used to be the same height. His facial features had matured over the years too. 

“I never said I wasn’t.”

“Do you mind giving us a hand with Katsumi’s luggage, Ryouta-kun?” Chihiro asked. “Good Lord, girl...are you packing for an apocalypse? Why did you bring so much?”

Besides her suitcase that was stolen, Katsumi had with her a backpack, a medium sized handheld bag, and one large bag that was almost as long as she was tall on her shoulder. It seemed like she was moving to Osaka instead of just visiting for the summer.

[x0401x]

Mekakucity Talkers: Chapter 20

The Mekakushi-dan progresses with preparations for Mary’s birthday. Meanwhile, Kano is in the middle of carrying out a special mission...!?

← Previous || Index || Next →

Kido, Kano

Kido: This is Kido from the hideout. What’s the situation there?

Kano: Yes, yes, I’m in the middle of carrying out the special mission over he~re. The target is currently passing by Point A. It’s going on as planned. If it continues like this, after she passes by Point B...

Kido: Hey.

Kano: Eh, what is it?

Kido: What’s that “Point A” and “Point B”? Don’t go making up weird codes on your own accord.

Kano: This is a performance that gives realism to the mission~. It’s something like that, right?

Kido: Honestly, you’re a genius at complicating conversations. You haven’t forgotten your objective, yeah?

Kano: I get it! Tomorrow is Mary’s birthday~, so while you’re preparing for the birthday party in the hideout, my role is to take Mary somewhere else, right?

Kido: That’s right. After all, I’m baking the cake, Seto is out to pick a present and we entrusted the hideout’s decoration-making to Kisaragi and the others. Failure won’t be tolerated.

Kano: Everyone was eager~.

Kido: I want us to finish the preparations today one way or another. Until then, we’re counting on you to distract Mary.

Kano: Yes, yes~. But why am I in charge of taking Mary outside?

Kido: If you’d stayed in the hideout, you’d mostly move your mouth and not seriously do any work. I thought that she’d definitely refrain if I invited her to go for a walk together. Think of this as an apology for always teasing her and hang out with Mary on her walk until she’s satisfied.

Kano: My, my...

Kido: Well? How’s Mary?

Kano: We’re crossing the shopping district right now. She’s chatting with a familiar shopkeeper from a fish store.

Kido: Aren’t there any hints that she realized our plan?

Kano: I think it’s all fine up to now... Ah! Kido!

Kido: What is it? What happened?

Kano: Dammit. This is an emergency.

Kido: Hey. Did something happen?

Kano: To think that thing would be in a place like this... It was a blind spot.

Kido: Wha... Don’t tell me our plan was found out...!?

Kano: No, there was an ice cream sign in front of us. The silent pressure coming from Mary was tremendous. I had no choice but buy her one...

Kido: How is that an emergency?

Kano: It was a 150-yen damage to my wallet.

Kido: You don’t have to report that kind of stuff! Don’t talk in a tricky way about everything!

Kano: Well~, it’s ‘cause I didn’t have anything to chat about with Mary, so I was bored.

Kido: Conversations are your forte, aren’t they?

Kano: At first, I was desperately talking so that the conversation wouldn’t stop~, about topics Mary seems like she’d have interest in, or about what times she normally thinks of her poems. But in the middle of that, she told me not to talk to her.

Kido: You reap what you sow.

Kano: Oh! While you were saying that, I got in a pinch again!

Kido: What is it this time!?

Kano: Somehow, we’ve found a stall of shaved ice. Ah~, Mary is staring at it. She’s looking at it like she’s fascinated~. This is the premonition of the next begging...

Kido: If it’s something like that, buy it for her! More importantly, don’t talk to me about every little useless thing! I’m busy with the preparations over here.

Kano: I get it. Don’t be so angry~. Hey, Kido. Huh, silence? O~i, Danchou-sa~n. Hey. Are you busy? Kido? Ah, pinch, pinch. It’s a real pinch. Hey, Kido.

Kido: SHUT UP!!! I TOLD YOU I’M BUSY HERE!!!

Kano: No, this is a real pinch, I said.

Kido: If you say any more useless stuff, you won’t have a seat in tomorrow’s birthday party.

Kano: No, no, this is serious talk. Mary is trying to go back to the hideout.

Kido: SAY THAT FASTER!!!

Kano: I did! I called out to you!

Kido: For starters, your role is to impede that!

Kano: Impossible~. She didn’t listen to me and quickly took off. Look, she’s already in front of the hideout.

Kido: You’ve already come this far!? No helping it... We’ll hide the cake and decorations for the time being, so even if it’s only for a bit, I’m leaving the distraction to you!

Kano: No, she’ll suspect me no matter what I say. She’s trying to open the door~. Anyway, I’ll try to pull the door back... Uwah, she’s strong.

Kido: Do your best! Just a little more!

Kano: Wait, wait. Strong, strong; this girl is too strong. Physically strong.

Kido: Don’t give up! Kano! You’re a strong boy, right!?

Kano: No, no, no, I’m telling you, it’s impossible. She’s trying to rip my arms off. Ah~, impossible, impossible, impossible.

Kido: Kano, I won’t forget you.

Kano: Wait, wait, don’t sacrifice me!

Kido: Just a tad more! Endure it! All right! We’ve hidden everything on our end! You can let Mary pass already!

Kano:

Kido: Kano? Too late, huh...

Kido, Seto

Seto: Kido? I’ve bought the present and come home.

Kido: Aah, good job.

Seto: Well, and also... Kano is petrified in front of the hideout. This is Mary’s ability’s doing, right? Did something happen?

Kido: Yeah... A noble sacrifice...

[nekumiko]

Greater Than the Gift

Fandom: Kagerou Project

Genre: Hurt/Comfort

Rated: K+

Words: 1,501

Summary:  His Eyes had taken away his very rare, once-a-year only escape from this cruel world. But is that all really it?

For as long as little Kousuke could remember, birthdays meant receiving bigger portions of the food rations, getting prioritized for adoption, and most of all, everyone suddenly becoming kind to him. Then it’d be back to the cruel reality of him being too small, helpless, and weak right at the next day. Where him getting bullied, laughed at, and isolated was a normal routine.

However, it had actually been quite nice to revel in this momentary special treatment. At least, for once a year, he’d get a break from the unfairness and misery he’d been forced to live with despite his young age.But for the previous year, he’d started hearing voices. People’s real voices that tell him words that don’t usually match the ones they speak out loud. It was terrifying, traumatizing. And worse, he couldn’t help it.

And so, as the clock ticked towards the first hour of his seventh birthday, he’d feared the things he’d hear. It had already been bad enough to have to suffer through their countless mean thoughts directed at him every day. But tomorrow, the only day he’d looked forward to each year, would just be the worst. This ability he had gained cannot give him freedom from the harsh world anymore.

If only Hanako, his trusty dog best friend, had still been with him, he’d be okay. He’d been certain its thoughts only meant to comfort him like usual. And that alone would’ve been the perfect gift. But he had also known that would not be possible anymore.

Kousuke had felt the bed shift suddenly, the springs too noisy in the dark. He had turned around and saw the boy from the top bunk climbing down to sit on his bed. “Shuuya?”

“Hey. You’re crying again, huh?” The blonde boy had smiled wryly down at him.

“I’m sorry.” He had sat up as well. “Am I keeping you up?”

“Nah, it’s alright.” Shuuya had grinned. “You’d get a pass for everything in a few hours anyway, birthday boy.”

He had looked away. “A-ah, yeah, I guess.”

“Hmm?” The other boy had peered at him. “Why the long face? Ah, are you afraid of getting adopted?”

He had shaken his head fiercely. “No, I don’t think that would be a problem. No one wants a monster, so I’m sure I’d be safe.” Kousuke had tried smiling then. “Besides, no one gets adopted first, right? That was the promise. Tsubomi did quite well on her birthday two months ago.”

“Ah, yes. So,” Shuuya had winked, “not to pressure you or anything, but my friend, the pressure’s on you.”

“Huh?”

Shuuya had only chuckled. “Never mind that. I’m sure you’d do a great job displeasing those clients tomorrow.”

Kousuke had frowned. “I already displease everyone.”

Shuuya had stopped smiling then. “No, Kousuke, not… everyone.”

“Everyone!” he had repeated quite forcefully. “Even you and Tsubomi think I’m annoying!”

That had shut Shuuya up. Or rather, the boy didn’t have the heart to say anything more in his defense as Kousuke had begun to cry.

“I… I just want this to stop!” he had struggled to say in between sniffles, hands moving to cover his ears. “I’m sick of everyone lying to me! Especially tomorrow! Tomorrow would be the one day each year when everybody would act like they like me. Even if it’s just for a day, I’m happy with that. But now… now, it will never be the same again! Because I’d still hear what they really think of me – that they hate me, that they’re disgusted with me!” Kousuke had ended up curling into a ball and rocking himself back and forth until he calmed down.

It had been a long moment of nothing but his soft cries, so it was a surprise to feel the other boy’s presence still beside him.

He had looked up. “Y-you’re still here…?”

“Of course! I am your friend! Tsubomi and I are!” Shuuya had grinned again. “Even if you… well, do get on some people’s nerves at times, we will stay, because we’re your friends! And friends don’t usually give up on each other that easily, right? So just think: tomorrow, you may hear all sorts of mean stuff even if they give you their biggest smiles, but know that you’d also be hearing from at least two sincere kids. And that would be me and Tsu—“

“Quiet down, you two!” they had heard an older kid grumble from the opposite side of that room they shared with the other boys. “We’re trying to sleep here!”

Shuuya had only snickered before he patted a startled Kousuke’s head. “It’ll be okay. Cheer up! It’s supposed to be a happy birthday, right? And like I said, you’ve got us. So don’t worry.”

You’ve got us.

Kousuke had taken note of that phrase that resonated in his head as he laid back down. It had allowed him to survive his birthday that year, and the years after that, eventually learning how to control his power. True enough, he hadn’t been alone in achieving that.

You’ve got us.

As time passed, he’d also found out that anyone – classmates, teachers, coworkers, bosses, strangers – can think badly of you, intentionally or not, no matter how much kindness you show them. But by the end of the day, he’s got people he could count on to give him the truest smiles and the sincerest words of appreciation. Shuuya and Tsubomi, then the Tateyamas, and then Marry.

And this year, the even bigger set of friends he found waiting for him just as he opened their apartment door when he went home from work that day.

“Happy Birthday!” he was greeted in chorus.

Seto’s eyes widened. He’d kind of expected a little celebration (he’d been accidentally overhearing Marry and Momo’s plans since last week), but how the base turned out to look surprised him.

Because it seemed like his friends did some kind of big art project. Paint stains on the carpet he’s sure Kido had gotten mad at, Happy Birthday cutouts hanging from the center of the room, quite uneven streamers strewn across the walls, and a bunch of Post-its on the one right nearby. When he took a closer look, they were short notes signed by the Dan for him.

“Wow!” He looked back at his friends gathered in the middle of the living room. “T-thanks, everyone.”

“Sorry for the lack of artistry,” Momo said sheepishly. “We didn’t want to spend your money.”

“After all,” Ene piped in, “you’re the most responsible almost-adult here! Right, Master?”“Yeah, sure,” Shintaro deadpanned.

Seto smiled as he scratched the back of his head. “Oh, uh, thanks again, then?”

“But we did spend some— “

“Oh, shush you!” Momo interrupted Hibiya.

Kano laughed. “Oh, come on, there’s no point in keeping it a secret.”

He suddenly noticed the little medusa do the slightest twitch.

“You seriously said something like that, huh?” Kido raised an eyebrow at the blonde. “Though, you have a point. See that cake, Seto?”

Seto glanced at the dining table a few distances behind one of the living room couches.

“Uwah, Danchou, so straightforward!” Kano whined. “But yeah, that large, delicious-looking chocolate treat you’d normally see from that bakeshop just across the street,” he described carefully, “actually came from your paycheck.”

“Because I was supposed to help out with baking one,” Kido added, “but unfortunately I was helping the clumsiest person alive.”

Marry, who was standing in between the two, visibly tried to make herself small. “I-i-it was an accident…”

“Oh, come on, you guys! Stop bullying her.” A fond look on his face, Seto approached Marry and pat her head. “It’s okay. I’m sure you only meant well.”

“I just wanted to do something special for Seto,” she murmured. “Because Kano said you’d get tons of gifts from work already. Something about always being employee of the month?”

“And older women coworkers crushing on you,” Kano added.

“W-what?”

Marry glared at the deceiver for a moment before looking back at Seto and pursing her lips. “It looks like he’s right, though.”

Seto turned to the door where Marry had been eyeing the plastic bag he’d set down upon entering, which Konoha was now rummaging through. A few chocolate bars were already at the android’s feet.

“Those notes were just a last-minute idea I asked them to do.” Marry hung her head. “I’m really sorry.”

Today at work, he received pats on the back, unexpected favors, free food, little presents. But then again, he knew not everyone’s sincere. And he didn’t need his Eyes to confirm that. Just the other day, he witnessed some of these same people look at and speak of him maliciously.

“You know what?” Seto gently lifted her chin to properly look at her. “Those messages are actually the best gifts this year. Really, thank you. Believe me, it’s… the thought that counts.”

Seto had to smile again. Suddenly, that old saying had a whole different meaning to him now.

[xxhanabifireworksxx]

From the Heart:Chapter One

I don’t write these often so please be kind. I’ll try to release a chapter every week or so. 

Rated K+ 

Set 2-7 years before the main storyline of Bleach

The Morning of the Captain’s Exam

 Toshiro laid wide-awake on his futon. The sound of cicadas filled the air outside in the early morning. Sunlight streamed through his window, hitting the left side of his body.

His fears had awoken him in the small hours. It was the same every time- a gripping fear. He felt his temples strain. Rubbing them he slowly pushed himself up.

Ugh, my head hurts. He could never remember what it was that he had dreamt about but the anxiety it caused him was something that took him a moment to shake off.

Looking at the clock on the wall across the room from him, he felt a pang of urgency. Hinamori!

She wanted to meet up with him before he had to take the exam. Toshiro recalled her conversation with him two days prior- her calming voice. It’ll be fine for sure! You’ll see!

He slid across the glossy wooden floor in his socks almost falling into the genkan* where his sandals were tossed along with a few other miscellaneous pairs of shoes and a cat toy.

Kicking on his sandals and fumbling with the laces in his hands he heard a soft knock on the door. “Just a moment-” he half mumbled calling out from behind the locked door. Grabbing his kimono off a hanger in the closet he threw it on over his shoulders, stuffing his arms through the sleeves and tying the sash around his waist.

He already knew it was her. Hinamori’s reiatsu was calm and warm flowing all around him. It reminded him of a pleasant summer afternoon breeze with hints of flowers blossoms- gentle and kind unlike anyone else in all of Seireitei.

Opening up the door, he was immediately hit with the smell of fresh candied red beans. His tense expression lessened.

“Good morning,” he breathed in almost a whisper.

She looked at him through dark eyelashes as she shifted the tin and wax paper around inside to keep the candied beans from falling out. “Morning, Shiro-chan. I brought you your favorite.“ She beamed.

He got lost in the way her hair flowed around her shoulders. She wasn’t wearing it pinned up in a bun like usual. It looked really nice this way he thought.

However looking at her face, he realized that she had tired eyes with bags underneath. The lines in his forehead creased and he chewed his nail.

“Eh? Is something the matter Shiro-chan?”

His eyebrows furrowed more and he looked at her. “Idiot Hinamori. How long did you stay up making this for me last night? Your panda eyes are getting worse every time I see you, “ he chided in a gruff tone.

In reality though, he was concerned about her. Her lieutenant’s duties were piling up as well as his own. It was the height of summertime in the soul society and everyone wanted to be outside, chat with friends over tea, or go for a social night out. No one wanted to do his or her duties. He inwardly cringed, feeling his temple pulse yet again as he remembered the pile of paper on top of the desk in his previous captain’s office. Matsumoto!

She was supposed to be acting captain at the moment, but every time he saw her she was out drinking at the local tavern with Shunsui and Kira. Before he could let his frustration surface he returned his attention to Momo. Her head was tilted downward as she inspected the tin. He almost thought that she had fallen asleep standing up.

Taking one step forward he put a hand on her shoulder. “You really should take it easy. Captain Aizen has you busy doesn’t he?

“Oh um- yes.” Momo flinched ever so slightly at his touch as if she had been in a trance. “We’ve had a lot of new members joining lately so I’ve been falling behind on the paperwork. I feel like there’s a new pile on my desk every morning so last night I stayed up and finished what I had left.” She softly laughed.Toshiro’s eyes glazed over in concern. She didn’t have to do this for him.

“I wanted to see take your test today. Captain Aizen said I could come along if I finished up with the orders from last night, “ she stated with a puckered expression.

He smiled. Toshiro got a kick out of it when she was obstinate like this. It showed a glimpse of her fighting spirit. She was one of the best in all of soul society at combining her kido and tactical skills together. One time she and him were doing a training exercise together in the forest on the outskirts of seireitei and she got the clever idea to ignite the rope holding the targets airborne between two branches with Tobiume all the while using her kido to cause a massive explosion hitting all the targets at once. The force behind this move had sent him back a few feet in the air recoiling from the heat of the blast. He admired her strength and intellect in such situations.

“ Well it can’t be helped then,” he slowly blinked. “You’re still the same as ever, bedwetter Momo.”

Her expression grew lax. “Stop calling me that Shiro-chan!”

“I’ll stop calling you that when you stop calling me by that old nickname of yours!”

“You know that’s not going to happen, don’t you?”

“Hmph.”

She put her hand on her hip. “Well then it’s settled.”

Her eyes stopped in the middle as she was looked at him from head to toe. “By the way your kimono is sticking out over your hakama, “ Hinamori gestured.

Face flushing bright red, he spun around almost slamming the door in her face. Stupid! Stupid!

With the door open a crack she peeked through giggling at him, “ I can’t imagine what sort of impression that would have made, Shiro-chan.”

“Hinamori!”

He puckered his cheeks looking at her through the door trying to recover his embarrassment. When his eyes met with hers he looked away, flush still coloring his cheeks a light pink.

“But-thank you for coming here so early. The candied beans look really good. This must have taken you hours to make, but really you didn’t need to do all this!”

“Ah, it’s nothing.” She said half closing her eyes heavy with exhaustion. “ I wanted to cheer you up. I know you’re really anxious for this today, but you can do it. I believe you. You’re super strong… and that’s my Shiro-chan- .”

“Hey! Hinamori!” He caught her as she went stumbling forward a bit.

She gazed up at him weakly smiling. “Why do you have that stupid grin on your face, bedwetter? “ He questioned a little more harshly then he initially intended and immediately felt bad after the fact.

“Why don’t you come inside for a moment? I’ll get you a cup of tea. Would you like green or black tea?”

“Green please, black tea doesn’t taste all that good to me,” she confessed as he placed a hand on the small of her back.

His cat, Yuki started meowing at him as he closed the door softly behind him. He was a gift from Momo last year around his birthday. She had found him outside in some bushes abandoned it appeared by his mother. When she picked him off the ground he was so cold that she had thought it was already too late. But taking him inside to her quarters she warmed him up slowly with a towel holding him in her lap. He remembered the day she called him frantic and heartbroken.

Together they helped the kitten survive the night and by morning the fluffy snowball of a kitten was running around. The reason she couldn’t keep him was that she was afraid that the fifth division quarters were not a good place for him. Seated and unseated officers alike always came storming through the office without second noticed and the kitten escaped several times nearly being crushed under their feet. Plus Aizen was allergic so that didn’t make things any better.

So without hesitation Toshiro took the cat in. Tenth division’s quarters were a little more updated and spacious due to the fact that at the time Isshin, Matsumoto and him were all living together. He had nowhere to go besides back to granny so this remained both his home and the kitten’s. Of course Yuki didn’t mind one bit.

“Here you are-” He started and pulled up a chair for her to sit in at the kitchen table.“Make yourself comfortable.”

Toshiro light on his feet grabbed a green ceramic teapot off of the stove and turned the water on.

“You can come watch me today, but as soon as you get back to the barracks I want you to go right sleep.”

“But-“

“Momo, no.” Toshiro told her sternly. “ You’re overworking yourself. If I see you after the fact I’ll personally escort you back. No more paperwork, no more baking. Just sleep.”

He sat down in the chair across from her rubbing a dirty spot on the table. “Do you want anything to eat with that? I have mochi in the refrigerator.” He didn’t get a response. She had her eyes fixed on him in a thoughtful way.

“Shiro-chan I didn’t know you were such a worry wart?” She wondered.

He took a quick glance back at her before getting back up on his feet and then stopped in his tracks. She wasn’t wrong. He did worry about her. Probably more then she realized. Toshiro inhaled a breath.

“It’s nothing. I’m just not myself lately.” He turned grabbing the pot off the stove and turning the heat off with a loud pop.

Reaching for a hot pad on the wall to the right of him he clutched it in his hand for a moment as a terrifying thought crossed his mind. I don’t want anything to happen to her. This was pushed out of his mind as he felt the presence of another unraveling as if out of a slumber.

Master, It’ll be all right. You won’t let anything happen. She’s just tired.

Yes I know, but I can’t shake this feeling I have.

Together we are strong. We will protect her. She’s the reason why you have such a wide command over my powers already.

I will try.

“Here. Be careful it’s hot.” He said snapping himself out of his conversation with Hyourinmaru.

Turning his back to her once again he began ambling across the kitchen floor passing into the office area. He became increasingly aware of his footsteps on the hard wooden floor.

But what if I fail? What then?

[autolycusimp]

It’s Nachi’s birthday today and you know I’m about to do something right now. I’ve loved this guy for 7 years now, and I still secretly hope he gets his time to shine in Saint Seiya. 

Until then, I have 20 head canons for my Wolf Saint. One for every day of the month I should’ve been doing. But I didn’t because I am zapped of all creative energy. 

Quick reminder that these are my head-canons. Some may differ from others. ISome are about his prefrences, how he gets along with people, his background and even his training days in Bomi Hills. 

Headcanon #1

Nachi is fully fluent in English and Japanese. He was born in Japan but raised in Oxford, England by his mother and grandparents. The accent stuck around even after he left. I always pictured Nachi to sound similar to Gavin Free of Rooster Teeth when he speaks English.

I think the main reason why I headcanon Nachi as British is mostly because of this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2F3ZWEEbF4&t=238s

Michael Jones vaguely reminded me of Jabu, because of the short temper. And Nachi messing around would make Jabu fly into a rage. There’s more videos of Gavin and Michael, but this Minecraft one takes the cake:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_drIby275I

Headcanon #2

His favorite desserts are: raspberry ripple ice cream, eton mess and trifles. He’ll try other desserts, but his preference is primarily British.    

Headcanon #3

If Hyoga is the best dancer of the Main Bronze Saints, then Nachi is the best dancer for the Secondary Bronze Saints. Hyoga is focused more on ballet, and Nachi is content with dance aerobics. The two end up being friends because of shared interests. They also discover that their mothers both studied and danced for the same ballet company in Paris (more on that later).  

Of course, he keeps this a secret from the rest of the group. But people notice how graceful and fluid his movements are anyway.

Headcanon #4

The Gen Ma Ken attack ended up affecting Nachi’s sleeping pattern and he ended up with insomnia for several months. Granted, as a Saint, his body has more endurance than any other mortal, but he had to get medication so he could sleep. Afterwards, he was able to go back to bed with no problem.

Headcanon #5

Nachi talks in his sleep. It totally caught everyone off guard, but eventually they decide to roll with it. The rest of the losers place bets to see who can hold a conversation the longest with Nachi. So far, Ban is in the lead.    

Headcanon #6

Nachi’s the type of guy to overheat in his sleep, so he wears boxers to bed. He’ll put on PJ pants if there are overnight guests. (Unlike Ichi, who would sleep in the nude regardless of who’s over.)

Headcanon #7

Nachi has the ability to talk himself out of any fight (when it’s not Saint-related). However, he STILL can kick your ass if you push his buttons enough. This goes mostly for non-Saint related fights. He’s a low-tier Bronze Saint, but his strength can severely hurt anyone.  

Headcanon #8

Out of all the bronze saints, Jabu is Nachi’s closest friend. The two have each other’s back when unpacking some painful stuff or when they’re just going out for drinks and hitting on girls along the way. When Jabu needs some time off, Nachi will often times step in as leader.

Headcanon #9

Nachi has no idea who his biological father is, but he knows he’s still alive in France.

His mother told him that she met his father in Paris while she was working in a ballet company. He was a student activist and lived a life of danger for the greater good. She was absolutely smitten with him and he soon took a liking to her. She fought by his side, and this clashed with her schoolwork. She gave up her dreams of being a performer so she could stay with him.

But the relationship was very turbulent, and they got together just as quickly as they broke up. Eventually, his mother found out she was pregnant. She went to tell her lover the news, unsure of what he would say. He looked at her, smiled and laughed. She was confused and asked him what he found so funny. He simply smiled at her and said:

“Oh, ma chérie, you should know by now that my significant other is revolution! I can’t have a child slow me down...”

And she never saw him again. It’s safe to say, Nachi absolutely despises the shit out of his biological father.

Headcanon #10

Nachi’s mother took him to go see some friends in Japan. While driving to Tokyo in the middle of a storm, they got into a car crash. Nachi’s mother was in the hospital, her life hanging by a thread. But it was very clear there was a slim chance of her surviving. Nachi told the doctors he had family in England, and they were busy trying to contact his grandparents.

At the time, Mitsumasa Kido was busy searching for orphaned boys to become Saints. He was visiting one of his hospitals where he found Nachi crying. He learned that the boy had lost his mother and was “technically” an orphan. Mitsumasa Kido “adopted” Nachi and had people sign and complete the paperwork.

By the time Nachi’s grandparents went to go and find Nachi, he was gone. Mitsumasa Kido had told the doctors to tell them he and his mother perished in the car accident, but his grandfather wasn’t convinced. Mitsumasa Kido had to pull several strings so they would stray off his trail. So Nachi ends up going to Bomi Hills, training and receiving the Wolf Cloth.  

Headcanon #11

During his years of training in Bomi Hills, he met someone there. She lived in a neighboring village with her grandmother; a woman who inherited a diamond mine and held a lot of power. That woman was named Madame Barbara; a Johannesburg resident with Dutch background.    

Humans need human contact to survive, and Saint training was brutal. Nachi found support in this little sheltered red-haired girl. Her grandmother hated him but he didn’t understand why. He found out later by the redhead; her grandmother saw Nachi as a troublemaker and wanted him far away from her granddaughter. Finding her demands silly, Nachi and the redhead found a way to see each other in secret and away from the public eye. He gave her the name Mizuki, so she would know he was nearby.

As the years passed and Nachi went through the stages of discovering and strengthening his Cosmo, he too started to feel something  for the girl. The feeling was mutual, but sometimes fate isn’t on your side. Mizuki’s grandmother started to grow more and more vicious towards Nachi and she would now throw her frustrations towards Mizuki with verbal abuse. After Nachi won the Wolf Cloth, he asked Mizuki to come to Japan with him. She agreed and gave him her necklace so she can come back for it later.

The Graude Foundation sent a ship to pick up Nachi, but Mizuki was nowhere to be found. He waited for a few hours, but still nothing. Nachi was sure something was wrong, so he head towards Mizuki’s home. He confronts Madame Barbara and wants to know where Mizuki is. Madame Barbara avoids the question, but gives him an ultimatum.

She wants the Gold Cloth. And in return, she’ll give him Mizuki and leave the both alone. Nachi agrees to the deal but still demands to see Mizuki. Mizuki hugs him and tells Nachi she had no other choice but to do as her grandmother said. Nachi promises to win the Gold Cloth, and he’ll come back to get her. He keeps the necklace and head back to Japan on a mission.

But you know Nachi gets fucked up in the end.

Headcanon #12

What happened in Liberia leaves Nachi with some trust issues. He doesn’t like to show his emotions in public, because he’s paranoid that someone would use this against him. That doesn’t mean he won’t give love a chance, it’s just that it takes time for him to fully open himself.

Headcanon #13

Nachi is a fucking softie. He’s romantic, but doesn’t do public displays of affection. He prefers to keep things personal and between his significant other. When he gives his partner a gift, you bet it’ll be unique to them. He’s a sucker for cuddling and holding hands. Playing with his hair is also a plus.

Headcanon #14

I headcanon him as bisexual.  

Headcanon #15

Nachi’s favorite food is pizza.

Headcanon #16

During the summer is when Nachi’s freckles really pop. He has a splatter of freckles on the bridge of his nose and cheeks. They mostly accumulate on his shoulders, his back and on his chest.

Headcanon #17

Since his birthday is in the summer, he likes to throw a party for him and his close friends. He doesn’t have a problem letting loose with them.

Headcanon #18

Nachi’s favorite bands are, in no particular order: Wham!, Def Leppard, Van Halen, Whitesnake, The Scorpions and Duran Duran. (Hungry Like The Wolf, anyone?)  

Headcanon #19

Nachi’s alcoholic drink of choice is champagne. But he isn’t picky and will drink whatever is presented.

Headcanon #20

Slightly NSWF-ish. The most sensitive parts of Nachi’s body are his chest and stomach. He reacts almost immediately if someone touches him there. Ichi would try to tickle him and ended up getting a black eye that lasted for a week.

 --]

I’m debating of whether or not continuing the final 11 days with plot-specific stuff that concerns Nachi, but I’m still not sure.  

[shifaalishah]

Our baby has arrived!

OUR BABY HAS ARRIVED!!!💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻 No I wasn't expecting nor have I delivered but my baby sister just did. Which means our entire family did.😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁 Yes that's exactly how it is. Whenever someone close to you is expecting or delivers a baby the lives of everyone around get filled with magic. Nothing short of a miracle. The excitement of a new life, small hand, little feet,soft skin and rosy lips. Baby names pouring in.Influx of gibberish baby words. Miniature clothes and booties,sweaters and baby blankets made by mom and mama. Sleepless nights. Traffic of well intended but imposing advice. Guessing games of who the baby looks like. A replay of labour stories. And of course landmarks proudly shared and documented, from the first potty to the first sound to the first smile. And the blinding but strong urge awakened in each mom to have yet another little one. It's priceless. It takes me right back to 5th of January 2002. I had been in labour for 24 hours and I had yet another 24 to go. The wait was long because though I had, in my Gynac's words-"Beautiful contractions" (Beautiful???🙄) But I wasn't dialated enough. On the 5th night My water bag gave way at moms. Dad mom and me rushed to the hospital. Forgetting almost to call Vipul.(he was at home which was the other end of the country. 🙈Almost🙄.) I was in excruciating pain and yet the little one showed no signs of appearing. Worst still the baby was going into distress because he had🙈 pooped😖). Now I knew what it meant to be "Full of shit!".😬 I've come to realize that some of the most ridiculously funny conversations happen in stressful situations. My Delivery is a treasure trove such insane conversations. Anyway Meera aunty my gynecologist kept checking if I'd dialated,so much so that at a point of time I told her " If you push any further your hand is going to come out of my throat".🙄😡 Anyway through the night I kept pacing, pausing in between to deal with the contractions. To everyones surprise I was extremely calm,tolerant and strong through out my labour. No sound escaped me except a mumble of "Oh God! oh God!Oh God!" At every contraction which was five minutes apart,After hearing my mumbling a number of times my mom,who is very religious, couldn't contain herself. And she finally blurted. Mom-Take Ganpati Bappas name, Hanumanjis name why "Oh God???" 🙄 Me- Mom are you seriously being non-secular at this moment?😡 Mom-No! Not at all. It just sounds ambiguous.🤔 Me- Ambiguous or catholic?😠 Mom- No,no! Non-specific. Besides Mahim church is too far I doubt Jesus will make it in time?😈 Me-🙈🙈🙈🙈🙈 After this conversations we both suddenly realised,we were so busy calling on all the Gods we had forgotten to call the man who was responsible for my state.😒 So finally mom called him. He reached in no time. Benefits of delivering in the middle of the night😁.If it was day he'd probably have reached on the kidos first birthday.🙄 Anyway,he rushed into the room had one look at me and his blood pressure plummeted. So much for being strong.🙄! I was too much in pain to care for the father to be. And it was decided to leave him out of the operation theatre. No one had time to attend to a tall fainted man.🙄 Finally after much waiting,and constantly monitoring Meera aunty decided to perform a c-section,while I was hell bent on having a normal delivery(the romance of motherhood!🙃). When she was prepping for the delivery my mom went to her with tea and biscuits🤗. Out of concern of course. Because she was a mom and no one is supposed to work empty stomach,and definitely not miss breakfast.😁😁😁😁 Everyone,from my husband to mom,dad,my mom in law everyone had tea and cookies 🤤While I was starving to death and ready to kill.😡😡😡 Women in labour should surely be allowed a couple of murders!🤔🤔🤔🤔 After much debate I walked into the OT. Still refusing to take epidural for the c-section. Meera aunty was very understanding and decided to indulge me one last time. Meera aunt- We'll try one last time,two pushes and if it's(didn't know the gender.) not out I will do the c-section. I agreed and gathered all my strength which had long abandoned me in the last 48 hours😥😰😶and pushed😤. Me-(after the first push) Is it out?😰 Meera aunt- Not yet! 😕 Me- But I felt something escape me.😦 Meera aunt-Gas!☺️ Me-🙈 Meera aunt- Breathe. Me- I can't the babies stuck in my lungs😡😡😡😡 Meera aunt you- One deep breath and push......☺️😘 Me with whatever I was left with took a deep breath and pushed like my life depended on it. And lo behold his first cry....the most beautiful sound I had ever heard. I am getting goosebumps even as I write this. My neonatal pediac got my little slimy "Life" cradled in her arms. He had stopped crying and stared at me pointedly as I soaked in his entirety through my teary eyes. He was the most magnificent magic I had ever seen. He looked straight out of national geographic. Tall,thin,HUGE sunken eyes, mammoth ears on a big wobbly head delicately placed on a frail body and pink feet. He looked exactly like a chimpanzee's baby.And he was the most beautiful sight I ever laid eyes on. A year later I went through all of it again. 48 hours of labour,the anxiety the tension the prayers and equally mental conversations and yet again I saw The most beautiful sight ever. I Held him in my arms admiring my marshmallow. My arms and heart full of two magical beings.I was finally complete. As we are yet again today...... Blessed by our "Small Miracles."

[nekumiko]

Invisible But Not Forgotten

Fandom: Kagerou Project

Genre: Hurt/Comfort

Rated: K+

Words: 2, 074

Summary:  At least, at one point in our lives, we all want to be remembered on our birthday. Even that girl who once wished for the earth to be rid of her presence.

@kuredo164 also made a wonderful 24-page comic for this!

Once, she’d desperately wanted to disappear.

But every year, there would be at least one day when she would want to be remembered.

“Happy birthday, Tsubomi,” her sister would gently whisper upon her arrival on those times.

She would want some bit of attention on her birthdays. Maybe not from everyone, especially from her parents. She knew that would be too much to ask already. But at least just from the only person glad to have her around.

For some reason, though, her birthdays would always be a busy day for their family business, and since her sister’s old enough to take part in it, the paperwork the redhead would be given only allowed the older girl to visit her an hour or so after dinner, and sometimes even just as she’d started to drift off to sleep.

“Did you think I’ve forgotten already?” her sister would ask her.

And she would nod. That was something she’d always feared would happen.

“Don’t be silly. How could a special day like this slip from my mind?”

She would then smile back, but she knew she would doubt that again the next year.

That time, she’d been sitting by the window, gazing at the now-peaceful night sky repeatedly streaked with “exploding stars” the other night, when she heard the door crack open.

As per their tradition, the two had then sat on the floor to share cookies and sweets and, for the first time, cake. For the past four years that they’ve celebrated her birthday, her sister had been prevented from baking one, either because she would finish late at work, or there’d be a risk of their parents catching on to their secret feast.

Nevertheless, she had never complained. Just her sister remembering, with or without these birthday treats, already made her so happy.

“You’re turning seven next year, Tsubomi,” her sister had said as she watched the little girl taste the chocolate frosting. “Let’s hold a birthday party for you, with all the balloons and games and music. And all the children in our neighborhood would be invited. Would you like that?”

Her eyes had shone with excitement, but just so soon did she hesitate. “Would that be okay though… with them?”

Her sister had looked away and pursed her lips. “Well, it’s worth a shot. But I promise to do my best.”

She had nodded, before adding, “A party would be nice, but it’s okay if it won’t happen, though, Oneesan. I’d understand.”

“Tsubomi…”

“What’s important is that you remember. That’d be enough.”

Her sister had given her a sad smile, and then ruffled her hair. “I told you again and again before: I’d never forget.”

There was no birthday party the following year, just as she expected, but not because her parents didn’t allow it. Her sister didn’t even get the chance to ask them in the first place.

No one knew about her birthday anymore, except of course for those in charge of the paperwork in the orphanage. But it’s not as if they would care to celebrate an invisible girl.

Since that fire, she’d been unconsciously, literally disappearing from sight for long periods of time.

And she’d always believed that absence would eventually lead to oblivion.

While she did meet Shuuya and Kousuke, she didn’t want to impose on them, to make them feel obligated to do something for her birthday.

The New Year’s celebration would do, she told herself. It’s close anyway, and festive enough.

She was so firm in her resolve that it surprised her when, on the morning of her seventh birthday as she sat by the swings, two small hands held out three-and four-flowered bouquets in front of her face.

“Happy Birthday,” they greeted her, one quite timidly and the other too cheerfully.

It took her a few moments to recover from the shock. “H-how,” she finally took the flowers, “how did you know?”

“Well, we have our ways~” Shuuya winked, then glanced to the side, to Kousuke.

Kousuke’s eyes widened as he stuttered under her stare. “I-I di-didn’t meant to! Y-you just thought so much about January second and birthday memories and—“

“It’s alright, Kousuke.” She smiled. “In fact, I’m happy you read all that. Thanks, you two.”

Kousuke visibly sighed in relief, making Shuuya chuckle. He patted the smaller boy’s shoulder. “I told you it’d be okay with her.”

As she watched them, she thought maybe birthdays without her sister wouldn’t be so bad, if only she’d get to stay with these two.

The blonde caught her bittersweet smile, and returned it with an excited grin of his own. “So, what shall we do today, Tsubomi?”

And she’s sure he’s currently wearing that exact same smile, and would most probably ask the exact same thing once he succeeded in shaking her awake.

“Kido… Kidoooo~” She started to hear him as she got slowly pulled into consciousness.

He’s been at it for a while now, and it’s getting irritating already, that she finally reached out to shove him off her. Hearing a thud, she turned to the other side of the bed, secretly laughing at her poor brother who fell off the bed.

It didn’t take long, though, before she heard footsteps and felt a weight flop down beside her. He seemed to stretch a bit right in front of her, before drawing close to her face.

“Get up, Tsubomi,” he whispered.

Her eyes had been squeezed shut all this time, and she planned to stay that way until he gives up. Which didn’t look like would happen anytime soon, so she finally opened them with a frustrated sigh.

For a moment, there was silence as their eyes met. She swore she’d seen his cheeks turn a slight pink, but it completely vanished as his eyes changed into a bright red color. As red as she felt her face started to get when he whispered with a grin, “Happy Birthday~”

Instinctively, she pushed his face away and buried her own against her pillow with a grunt.

He laughed. “Aren’t you happy my face was the first thing you saw today?”

“I’m not seeing your face; I’m seeing your mask,” she replied, peeking up at him as he sat up.

He only grinned down at her. “You slept in today of all days.” He nodded towards the sunlight peering in through the blinds.

She sat up as well, turning to look at the digital clock on her bedside table. It’s almost noon. Right then, she hurriedly ushered him out so she could fix herself before facing the rest of the Dan.

Who have all gone to attend to their different agendas for today already, apparently.

Oh. Well, at least there’s someone who remembered…

“Kido,” the blonde deceiver waiting outside her door started to whine, “don’t you want to eat lunch? I’ve been starving for a while now since you won’t wake up.”

“So, basically, you woke me up so I could cook you some lunch.”

He chuckled. “That was the original plan. But that failed an hour ago, so I decided to do it myself.” He winked. “Be proud.”

She rolled her eyes and started out the hallway into the dining room.

“But seriously, it was getting really lonely, and I was starting to worry too that you might have died in your sleep already.” He fake-shuddered as he walked beside her.

“Yeah, whatever.” She reached the dining table and sat down. And stared. “Wow, so you’re able to cook something like this, huh? But don’t you think it’s a bit too much?”

He sat down across from her. “Nah, that’s just enough for a busy day.”

So it’s still the usual, then.

Since the Tateyamas took the trio in, Shuuya and Kousuke, along with their new sister Ayano, had always insisted to celebrate her birthday. It was a nice change from the secret little celebrations she used to have with her sister. Plus, they did something new every year, which made it fun and worth looking forward to, though she never admitted that outwardly.

Absence leads to oblivion, she’d used to believe, but Ayano changed that mindset.

“You can never really forget someone special to you, even if you couldn’t see each other as often as you want to,” her hero used to say. “We always look for you whenever you disappear, don’t we? So how do you expect us to forget something as important to you as your birthday?”

For the past two years since that day, though, celebrations had tuned down to something simpler. She would bake a cake (for Marry can’t be trusted in the kitchen), Seto would buy them dinner, Marry would give her flowers as a gift, and Kano would drag her to places all day and for once, gladly do his chores.

She told herself she’s content with that, but now that more people were added to the gang, and considering the liveliness of some of the new recruits, she kind of expected something more, something different, something fun again.

But if she’s not getting any of that this year, then it’s fine. Someone important to her had remembered at least. Isn’t that what she’d always wished for ever since, anyway?

“Did you have fun today?” Kano broke the silence they settled in as they took a shortcut to the base, after a long day of walking around town.

She glanced at him, a bit glad to be snapped out of her thoughts. “Why, of course.”

“You’re not as good as me, Kido.” He tilted his head to the side and smiled.

“Then why bother asking?” She looked away and sighed. “I’m sorry. I must have been obvious.”

He nodded without hesitation. “But I kind of expected that. I’ve dragged it on for too long. Or maybe because they took much more time than planned?”

“Huh?”

He grinned. “You’ll see. Come on, let’s hurry.” He then grabbed her arm and all but dragged her through the short distance left towards their apartment.

They reached the front door almost out of breath. But before she turned the doorknob, he spoke up.

“Hey, Tsubomi?”

“Huh?” she answered, quite startled at the sudden seriousness in his tone.

“A leader’s special to her whole gang. And no one ever forgets people who are special to them, don’t they?”

She blinked. “Kano?”

He didn’t answer anymore, and instead put his own hand over hers on the doorknob, opening it with her.

“Already?” She heard someone, probably Momo, squeak in the dark apartment, as well as panicked whispers and hushed instructions to light it up.

The door was closed right then, and at the center of the base, one-by-one the little candles on a rectangular cake illuminated most of the place and revealed the remaining seven members huddled together around it.

At Ene’s signal, everyone started to sing, really sing, the birthday song.

They greeted her “Happy Birthday” in chorus as they finished, but it turned out unsynchronized, as each member apparently called their leader differently. They playfully glared at each other at the simple mistake, but for her, it’s what made it unique and sincere, what made the gang them.

Soon, hot tears started streaming uncontrollably down her face.

“Eh? Kido, you’re not supposed to cry!” Kano, who’s been beside her the whole time, wiped them away.

“I should’ve known you’re up to something.”

He laughed. “You were too busy being depressed.”

She straightened up and nodded towards the rest of the Dan. “Your idea?”

“Yup~”

“Hey, don’t take all the credit now!” Ene pouted from her master’s phone.

“Well, anyway,” she chuckled, “t-thank you.” She gave a slight bow.

“There’s no need to be formal now, Danchou-san.” Momo, who was holding the cake, stepped closer.

“Kido, blow the candles!” Marry excitedly jumped up and down, to which Seto smiled.

“Go on, Kido,” he prompted too.

“Yeah,” Hibiya piped up, “before—“

“Hey, you’re supposed to wait first, Konoha!” Shintaro shouted from the back.

She could only shake her head and smile, before finally blowing the candles and steering Konoha away from the dining table full of food once the lights went on.

Yes, this little band of misfits, brought together by something they originally considered a curse, must have grown on her enough to hurt her when she thought they forgot about her special day.

No one ever did right from the start, she finally realized.

And for that, she was grateful.